Newsletter Summer 2015
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Newsletter Summer 2015 News Meeting Reports Diary Dates Travellers Tales Contents Chairman’s notes....................................................................................3 Ludgershall and Marlborough ............................................................4 Odiham ....................................................................................................8 The Battle of the Solent & the sinking of the Mary Rose 1545 .......11 New Year Party 2015 ............................................................................14 Julia’s Jottings ........................................................................................16 Florence Hyde .......................................................................................20 Roger Brown ........................................................................................21 Volunteering at Winchester City Museum .......................................21 Odiham Castle .......................................................................................22 2015/16 Calendar ..................................................................................23 Books for sale .........................................................................................24 WARG Committee Members ...............................................................24 2 Chairman’s notes Summer excavation ue to a number of things not coming together smoothly, we are Dnot having a Big Dig this summer. Later this year there will be an opportunity for a small number of the more experienced diggers to work on a scheduled monument; there will be more information coming soon. Apology I had asked for volunteers to carry out some desk research. Unfortunately I put off replying until certain things were sorted out, and they never were – sorry. Help wanted The WARG treasurer has, until now, also acted as membership officer, but now we are getting bigger, it seems like a good idea to split this role off, so we are looking for someone to take it on. You would normally need to spend a few hours a month on the work, and then in the spring, a couple of days spread over several weeks. You would also attend the three committee meetings a year to report on membership matters. If you are interested, please email me. Summer holidays We don’t have any travellers’ tales in this issue. Now most ofyou are off to interesting places, so please think about letting me have a report. The ideal input would be around 800 words and a couple of photos. Foot note This is the last newsletter where I will be writing Chairman’s Notes, as I will be standing down at the AGM in October. I will continue to edit the newsletter so I will pen (or rather key-board) the odd editorial. Dick Selwood 3 Ludgershall and Marlborough WARG outing 20th April 2015 Ludgershall lies on the main route from Andover to Devizes and Marlborough. The town developed to serve its castle, which covered a huge site. To each side of the High Street, with its town cross, were burghage hidal plots whilst Royal deer hunting parks lay to the north and south. The Queen’s Head public house dates from the 16th century and, with the arrival of the railways, the Prince of Wales Hotel was built in 1910 hoping to attract high ranking army officers and their wives. During both World Wars the area became a large army camp, the RAMC and the Tank Regiment being located here. According to the 1086 Domesday Book, Ludgershall Manor was owned by Edward of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire, who built a medieval castle in the late 11th century. By 1103 the wooden castle was owned by John the Marshall. On her escape to Devizes and Bristol, Empress Matilda slept here for one night in 1141. During the reign of King John Ludgershall Castle -Photo: Edwina Cole (1199-1216) substantial stone buildings were erected including ovens that would cook three complete oxen! King Henry III (reigned 1216-1272) spent a vast fortune building a great hall and having the Royal chamber whitewashed with black lines drawn to look like masonry blocks. Stone apartments were built for Prince Edward in 1251 (later Edward I) and these had two privy chambers, the height of luxury in the 13th century! For the next 150 years it became a retirement home for the wives of English Kings, finally no longer used by Royalty, by 1540 it was falling into disrepair. The worked masonry was reused by the town folk, even earth from the great ramparts was taken. Ludgershall was for 300 years one of the most important places in England, of greater standing in Medieval England than it is now, being able to send two members to Parliament, a privilege it kept until 4 the Reform Act of 1832. Marlborough was possibly named from the legend that Merlin was buried under the nearby prehistoric tumulus. After the Norman conquest William I assumed control of the area. Developing in medieval times with the wool trade this market town lies at the crossroads of east/west and north/south routes. It is served by the River Kennet and nearby Kennet and Avon canal. The medieval High Street was crammed with wooden, thatched houses until the Great Fire of 28th April 1653, which started in a tanner’s yard and spread rapidly, important buildings and 244 houses were destroyed. During the rebuilding the High Street was widened giving ample space for a local market. Fire swept through the town again in 1679 and 1690 so an Act of Parliament prohibited the use of thatch. The High Street boasted dozens of pubs and inns as Marlborough was a coaching town, where horses could be changed. Tour guide Don Bryan took us to some of the interesting places in the town. The industrial area near the Kennet was used for milling, tanning, fulling and rope making. The Town Mill is first mentioned in 1195 as being owned by St Margaret’s Priory, it was a working mill until 1922 when it was demolished. St Mary’s Church boasts an original Norman doorway but unfortunately the church roof and interior was destroyed in the fire of 1653. Cromwell helped with the rebuilding of the church, as Marlborough had supported him during the Civil War. Note the burnt stone column and cat mouldings. (A female cat rescued her kittens from the fire.) The terrace to the south of the church housed 11 tenements or “shambles” before the fire. The present Town Hall was rebuilt in 1867, the previous town halls having been destroyed. The Green houses the medieval part of the town, a Sheep Fair was held here, pubs surrounded the pleasant open green, the old Town Hall was on one side and on the other side weavers’ houses can still be seen. The author William Golding (1911-1993) lived in a house on the Green. Returning to the High Street via Silverless Street we passed jettied medieval houses which had survived the fires then reached larger, brick built, Georgian houses with their porticoes, fanlights and arched windows. The fires of Cromwellian and Stuart times presented an opportunity for redevelopment on a much grander scale. On the north side of the High Street is the Merchant’s House, which was 5 built following the 1653 fire. It was the property of Thomas Bayly, a silk merchant, he lived here from 1653 to 1670 with his wife, 9 children and servants. Still retaining its original room pattern we were given a private guided tour of this wonderful Merchant’s House -Photo: Edwina Cole property, seeing many of its original features, notably the recently uncovered wall paintings which are undergoing conservation. The dining room, painted in a striped pattern which copies silk hangings, is perhaps unique in Great Britain. Walking along the High Street we passed a plaque commemorating the Civil War Battle of Marlborough on 5th December 1642 when the Royalists attacked the Parliamentarian stronghold. William Shakespeare’s company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, performed in the yard of the White Hart Inn in the 1690s. St Margaret’s Priory is now a public garden but we learnt that Henry III gave bread and cheese and permission to the inmates to gather wood from the nearby Savernake Forest. The skeletal remains of 18 monks were excavated at this site. Another plaque by the Wellington Arms marks the tannery where the 1653 fire began. Marlborough Mound, Castle and Marlborough College: turning right at the end of the High Street into Bath Road,this prestigious college is located on the opposite side of the road. The Mound lies within the college grounds and was constructed in 2400BC (a similar date to Silbury Hill). In 1067 William the Conqueror ordered Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, to build a wooden motte and bailey castle on the prehistoric mound. William established the nearby Savernake Forest as a royal hunting ground and the castle became a royal residence. Subsequent Norman and Plantagenet Kings all spent time here and a stone castle was constructed by 1175. In 1267, under Henry III, the important Statute of Marlborough was enacted. This gave property rights to small landowners and limited the royal right to seize possession of property on the owner’s death. After the death of Henry III the castle fell into 6 disrepair and stones were scavenged. In 1683 a new mansion was built for Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset which later became the beloved residence of the Hertfords in 1779. Lady Hertford turned the Mound into the centrepiece of her landscaped garden, creating a spiral path so that tea could be taken in the summerhouse at the top. In 1751 the house was leased to an inn keeper, becoming The Castle Inn, one of the largest coaching inns in Europe. So it remained until the founding of the College in 1842 for the “sons of clergymen” which has at its centre the mansion once owned by the Hertfords. Katherine Middleton, her brother James and sister Phillipa are “famous” ex- students. St Peter’s Church was constructed in 1450 using masonry from the castle. In 1498 Thomas Wolsey (1473-1530) was here ordained as a priest, later rising to become a Cardinal and Lord Chancellor. In 1974 the church St Peter’s Church -Photo: Edwina Cole was declared redundant and was deconsecrated but 1977 saw the formation of a Trust to save the building, which is now used by the community for plays, concerts, exhibitions and craft fairs.